Donald Pratt

Donald Montague McVeagh Pratt (born 9 July 1935) is an Irish businessman and former first-class cricketer.

Born at Dublin, Pratt was educated in the city at Sandford Park School and St Columba's College.[1] He later studied at the University of Dublin, where he played cricket for Dublin University Cricket Club.[1] After completing his studies, Pratt moved into the legal profession as a solicitor.[1] Playing his club cricket in Dublin for Phoenix,[1] he made his debut in first-class cricket for Ireland against Scotland at Derry in 1963.[2] He played five further first-class matches for Ireland, appearing against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1964, the touring New Zealanders, Scotland, and Hampshire in 1965, and the MCC in 1966.[2] He scored 171 run in these six matches, averaging 14.25.[3] He had just two innings of note where he passed fifty,[3] with a highest score of 58 against the New Zealanders at Belfast.[4][1] Pratt was also a noted squash player, winning the Irish Squash Championship for ten years in a row.[5] He stopped working as a solicitor in 1974, when he and his wife purchased Avoca Handweavers, a County Wicklow business dating back to 1723.[5] By 2006, the company had eight stores in Ireland and one in the United States, and employed 475 people.[5]